Why are people scared of skunks?

I was sitting on my balcony watching a skunk walk by in the alley below (skunks are everywhere here). a group of 4 large male college kids were walking by and spotted the skunk in their way. They tried to go around and the skunk and it walked a little towards them. Then they start screaming and running away.

WTH? People are so afraid of getting sprayed they dont seem to realize that they are 10 times larger than a skunk. Would you not be scared of an animal that was 10 times larger than you? Especially when your only defense is a bad smell. When I come across skunks in my way on the sidewalk (which is multiple times a week). I simply walk towards it. Once I get close, It raises its tail and hisses at me. Thats when you just stand your ground and growl back at it. 5 seconds later its going to back down and get out of your way. It knows your 10 times its size. It knows that its spray is a defense, not an offense. I find it hilarious when people will cross the street or run to avoid it.

If people would just stop being stupid and running from them, maybe they wouldnt be walking around the damn neighbourhood like they own the place. So how do you handle skunk encounters?

I was sitting on my balcony watching a skunk walk by in the alley below (skunks are everywhere here). a group of 4 large male college kids were walking by and spotted the skunk in their way. They tried to go around and the skunk and it walked a little towards them. Then they start screaming and running away.

WTH? People are so afraid of getting sprayed they dont seem to realize that they are 10 times larger than a skunk. Would you not be scared of an animal that was 10 times larger than you? Especially when your only defense is a bad smell. When I come across skunks in my way on the sidewalk (which is multiple times a week). I simply walk towards it. Once I get close, It raises its tail and hisses at me. Thats when you just stand your ground and growl back at it. 5 seconds later its going to back down and get out of your way. It knows your 10 times its size. It knows that its spray is a defense, not an offense. I find it hilarious when people will cross the street or run to avoid it.

If people would just stop being stupid and running from them, maybe they wouldnt be walking around the damn neighbourhood like they own the place. So how do you handle skunk encounters?

[QUOTE]When I come across skunks in my way on the sidewalk (which is multiple times a week). I simply walk towards it. Once I get close, It raises its tail and hisses at me. Thats when you just stand your ground and growl back at it.[/QUOTE]

This is insane, and you are eventually going to get sprayed. And I will laugh and laugh.

Who do you think looks crazier? The guy who sees a skunk and avoids it, or the lunatic standing there having an argument with that skunk?

Ever since that morning I went downstairs in my highrise apartment building and smelled the scent after someone got sprayed, I will never come close to a skunk again. It literally took 3 full days for that scent to dissipate on all floors of the building. Once the scent was in the elevator shaft it was all over. I see that same family of skunks just about every morning when I take my dog for a walk or I am going to the gym.

I used to live in an old neighbourhood where there was a family of skunks. They would often walk by me at a distance of 8 ft and I never had problem.
Skunks spray when they are startled/scared. And if they are going to spray - there are pre-spray warnings.

If people would just stop being stupid and running from them, maybe they wouldnt be walking around the damn neighbourhood like they own the place. So how do you handle skunk encounters?

HeeHee.

"Internet is serious business" HeeHeeHee.
Losers/trolls waste time posting this "I don't feel like wasting time researching nonsense and trying to disprove the collective theories of a group of people that do not have, or deserve, even the tiniest shred of credibility. I'd rather amuse myself."

I was sitting on my balcony watching a skunk walk by in the alley below (skunks are everywhere here). a group of 4 large male college kids were walking by and spotted the skunk in their way. They tried to go around and the skunk and it walked a little towards them. Then they start screaming and running away.

WTH? People are so afraid of getting sprayed they dont seem to realize that they are 10 times larger than a skunk. Would you not be scared of an animal that was 10 times larger than you? Especially when your only defense is a bad smell. When I come across skunks in my way on the sidewalk (which is multiple times a week). I simply walk towards it. Once I get close, It raises its tail and hisses at me. Thats when you just stand your ground and growl back at it. 5 seconds later its going to back down and get out of your way. It knows your 10 times its size. It knows that its spray is a defense, not an offense. I find it hilarious when people will cross the street or run to avoid it.

If people would just stop being stupid and running from them, maybe they wouldnt be walking around the damn neighbourhood like they own the place. So how do you handle skunk encounters?

Such a stupid reason to start a thread.. BUT I completely agree with you. Especially on the bolded part.
I'm not scared of them either, I also tend to get pretty close to them, and I growl at them if one happens to try and be brave around me. But I'd run like hell if I saw its tail go up, because I don't want to smell bad. I'd have to take a day or two off work and girls would think I just stink, not that I got sprayed by a skunk.

And Ive been living in Canada for 27 years now and in this neghbourhood for 2 doing this and have not been sprayed once. Perhaps some of you should grow a pair and try standing your ground before you knock it. Skunks spray in defense. Unless youre going to attack it or invade its territory, its never going to spray you. BTW, the sidewalk is not its territory, unless its eating something on the sidewalk.